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Tigers
No one knows exactly why tigers are striped, but scientists think that the stripes act as camouflage, and help tigers hide from their prey while they hunt. Tiger stripes are like human fingerprints; no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. Most tigers have an orange coat with dark brown or black stripes accented with white. Tigers that live in cold climates (Siberian tigers) have thicker fur than tigers that live in warm climates. A tiger's tail is 3 to 4 feet long, about half as long as its body. Tigers use their tails for balance when they ru n through fast turns. They also use their tails to communicate with other tigers. A tiger's paw prints are called pug marks. Tigers have round pupils and yellow irises (except for the blue eyes of white tigers). Due to a retinal adaptation that reflects light back to the retina, the night vision of tigers is six times better than that of humans. A tiger's forefeet have five toes and the hind feet have four toes. All toes have claws. The claws a re 80 to 100 mm in length. Like domestic cats, tiger claws are retractable. Tiger scratches on trees serve as territorial markers. Adult tigers have 30 large teeth! The length of the canine teeth can be between 2.5 to 3 inches (74.5 to 90 mm.). Siberian tigers are the heaviest subspecies at 500 or more pounds (225 kg), with males heavier than females. The lightest subspecies is the Sumatran; males weigh about 250 pounds (110 kg) and females around 200 pounds (90 kg). Depending on the subspecies, the head-body length of a tiger is about 41/2 to 9 feet (1.4-2.8 m). The length of the tail is 3 to 4 feet (90-120 cm). The height at shoulder: 95-110 cm (depending on the subspecies). Food: Wild tigers can eat as much as 40 pounds of meat at one time. After eating a lot, they often do not eat again for several days. Over much of the tiger's broad geographic range, wild pig, wild cattle and several species of deer are its major prey. Unlike wild tigers which kill their prey and then gorge, tigers that live in z oos eat a prepared diet of horse meat and vitamins daily. They may eat as much as 10 pounds of meat per day. Tigers are ambush hunters, stalking their prey, approaching as closely as possible, and then charging the animal from behind. They usually bite the neck or throat of their prey. The neck-bite, which severs the spinal cord, is typically used on small or medium sized prey, while the throat bite, which causes suffo cation, is used on larger animals. After killing their prey, tigers drag the animal to a safe place, consuming it over the course of several days. Typically, wild tigers gorge themselves on fresh kills, and can eat as much as 40 pounds (18 kg) of meat at one time. The tiger will not eat again for several days.